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Author Archives: Cathy
Welcome to Love Spanks 2014!
***Warning, Part I: The contents of some of the works associated with this event are meant for ADULTS ONLY! If you are under 18, please skedaddle. Thanks!***
Love Spanks 2014 is finally here! You’ve tasted us, and now you get to sample free stories from top F/F authors. Please visit Governing Ana for the prize list, sign-up sheet, and free books. You can win from a prize pool valued at over $1,000, including a Kindle Fire or Nook HD!
Many authors will also offer a contest on their individual blogs. Your comment on their blogs automatically enters you in both the main contest and the individual contests!
What’s the catch? Absolutely nothing! We love writing for you and want to thank you for your readership. Perhaps someone might get a spanking or two, but that’s a reward rather than a catch, right?
How do you play?
1. Visit each blog between Friday, February 7 and Sunday, February 9 to read the posted stories and excerpts.
2. Leave a comment answering the story question on each blog. You will receive one entry per blog for the grand prize drawing. You will also be automatically entered in that author’s individual contest, if she has one.
3. If you have visited all of the blogs, visit Ana’s blog to sign up for FIVE bonus entries to the grand prize.
4. Deadline is midnight EST (UTC -5) on February 9!!
5. If you successfully completed a previous challenge (Spank or Treat 2013, Spankee Doodle 2013, Love Spanks 2013, or Spank or Treat 2012), you may add “VIP” to your comments. You will earn THREE bonus entries toward the grand prize. (Yes, we will be doing this again. Yes, if you successfully complete the Love Spanks 2014 challenge you can become a VIP for our next activity!)
6. If you are a F/F author or thinking of becoming one, please add “FF” to your comments. That way, your name will be entered in the special F/F author prize drawings.
7. If you are Love Spanks 2014 Ambassador, please add “Amb” to your comments to receive your extra prize drawing.
8. Visit any of the participating blogs on Friday, February 14 to find out the lucky winners. Will it be you?
Love Spanks Author Roster
Click on an author’s name below to read their post
Anastasia Vitsky
Cathy Pegau
Erzabet Bishop
Paisley Brown
Kate Richards
Kathryn R. Blake
KT Grant
Leigh Ellwood
Louisa Bacio
Maren Smith
Olivia Starke
PT Wyant
Penelope Hasler
Scarlet Chastain
Saranna DeWylde
Like these events? Want to support your friendly F/F authors? Become a Love Spanks Ambassador! In exchange for promoting this event, you will receive one extra prize entry, AND you are still eligible to participate and win prizes! To find out the details, send an email to tarafinneganromance@gmail.com, with the subject line “Love Spanks Ambassador.”
For more information, updates, and a list of participating authors, please visit Anastasia Vitsky’s blog.
Tweet #lovespanks on Twitter!
For more spanking fun, visit Saturday Spankings for additional snippets.
So, now that you know where all the Spanking fun can be found, here’s MY contribution. I hope you enjoy it : )
***Warning, Part II: The excerpt below is rated for ADULTS. It is a bit racier than normal fare found on this blog.***
I’ve Never Done Anything Like This Before….
When Ana invited me to participate in this event, my first thought was “OMG! None of my pubbed stories involve any sort of spanking or the like! What would I post?” Then I remembered I was working on a Science Fiction Romance that did, indeed, involve a little hand to bum (and then some) activity.
I usually write one or two relatively sedate (but hopefully sensuous!) love scenes in a book, so what had possessed me to attempt a scene with more graphic action? Well, I could blame the erotica romance writers I hang out with on Twitter (you know who you are). But I don’t think “blame” is the right word. I enjoy reading saucier love scenes. Maybe the better word to use is “inspired.”
When I came up with the idea for this story, I knew Bijou and Faris would have a very physical relationship. In fact, that’s ALL their relationship was going to be in their minds, but we know how that really works in romance land ; ) And for them, physical meant a little more than what *I* generally have in mind for sex scenes.
Below is an excerpt from their story. The set up: Bijou is a pilot who runs a courier/cargo service between planets. She’s hired by a man named Doc to deliver a box to Faris. Instead of giving Bijou a response, Faris decides she wants to return with Bijou. Bijou is used to flying alone, and is more than a little uncomfortable with having a passenger on her ship for two weeks. But the money offered is good, so she agrees.
As expected, the proximity becomes a bit too much for both women…
Bijou set the half-empty bottle on the table with a thud. No label, which meant home brew. Two shot glasses followed and she sat down opposite Faris. She poured a finger of clear liquid into each glass and slid one over. “Truth or Dare,” she said.
Faris eyed the drink. “Ale with dinner, now this? Are you trying to get me drunk?”
Bijou raised her glass, her dark eyes fixed on Faris. There was a glint of amusement there, but behind it was determination. She wanted something.
“Just killing time. You playing?” She tossed down the drink and refilled her glass.
Faris lifted the shot and sniffed. No discernible odor, but her eyes watered. What the hell was this stuff? Under Bijou’s unwavering gaze, she swallowed the alcohol. It slid past her tongue and down her throat like water. At first. Two seconds later, the bite-burn exploded at the back of her throat and into her sinuses. She closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling, her throat tightening against the assault. Three years ago, she would have drank twice as much without a hitch; living on Kepler had softened her.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes. Bijou watcher her, judged her. “Dare.”
A slow smile curved the other woman’s sensual mouth. “Actually, you already took on the first one.”
Faris cocked her head and poured another round. “I thought you were just offering me a drink. You didn’t say we’d started.”
Bijou shrugged. She raised her glass, and the silver buckle of her fingerless glove caught the light. “Call it a warm up. Besides, you’re a guest. You get to ask first.”
Faris met her gaze. “Truth or Dare?”
“Truth.”
She nodded toward Bijou’s hand. “Tell me about the gloves.”
The pilot hesitated, shot glass at her lips, then sipped. She set the glass on the table. “When I was six, my sister and I were playing tag in the engine room of our family’s cargo ship. Dad told us to stop, but we didn’t. I slipped and fell, and put my hand out to catch myself. Right into the open engine casing.”
Faris winced in sympathetic pain. “Oh, no.”
Bijou unsnapped each glove. “Yeah. Mangled it pretty good. I don’t remember much, thanks to the painkillers, but there were surgeries and regen therapy and grafts.”
She tugged off the gloves, showing Faris the backs of her hands. Long, slender fingers that appeared agile enough to play an old-fashioned harp as well as they danced across the nav panel of her ship. She turned them over. Perfect. Unmarred.
Faris looked up. “They’re fine. So why the gloves?”
“The damaged hand, the palm in particular, didn’t really heal right,” she said. “It looks and works like the other.” She opened and closed her hands. “But very sensitive to temperature and touch. The gloves allow me to function without distraction.”
“Which hand?”
Bijou gave her a sly smile. “You already asked your Truth question.”
Faris drank her second shot. “Fair enough. Your turn.”
“Truth or Dare?”
She had the feeling Bijou knew what she was going to say, but said it anyway. “Dare.”
Bijou finished her drink and licked her lips. Faris’s gut warmed. The pilot laid her hands palm up in front of Faris. “I dare you to figure out which one.”
Faris quirked an eyebrow at her. “Why? What happens if I do?”
Bijou leaned across the table until all Faris could see was her eyes, nose and mouth. God, what a mouth. “Try and you’ll find out,” she said in a husky whisper.
She sat back, her hands open before Faris. Oh, this was going to be much more fun than reading up on the political wranglings between Kepler and Jarvis IV.
Faris moved their empty glasses aside. She slid her hands under Bijou’s, all the while their eyes remained locked. “I promise to be gentle,” she said as she stroked the other woman’s palms with her thumbs.
Bijou swallowed hard, but she didn’t twitch or try to pull away. “Not too gentle, I hope.”
Faris smiled. “Only if you like it that way.” The pilot laughed. Faris lifted her hands and looked closely at the skin of her palms. “Beautiful.” She glanced up. “And the cosmetics are amazing too.”
Something in Bijou’s gaze changed, heated. There, behind the effort to not reveal which hand had been damaged, desire.
Faris pursed her lips and gently blew across Bijou’s palms. Bijou tensed, but no obvious reaction of one hand over the other. Faris touched her lips to the left palm. Bjiou trembled. She flicked her tongue against the smooth skin then blew again. The black of Bijou’s pupils expanded and her breath hitched. Faris waited a moment then repeated the test on the right palm. Expecting the second flick and blow, Bijou’s breathing remained even. The look in her eyes didn’t change. But that didn’t matter.
Faris laid her hands on the table and sat back. She poured them each a third shot and passed Bijou her glass.
Bijou drank it fast and blew out a cooling breath. “Figure it out?”
“Maybe.” Faris swallowed her drink then rose. She moved to the other side of the table, in front of Bijou.
The pilot turned in her chair and looked up. Faris sat on her lap, straddling Bijou’s thighs. She grasped the other woman’s wrists and ran Bijou’s hands along her own thighs, up her sides to her breasts. Bijou’s palms were hot through her thin shirt and Faris shivered.
“Which one?” Bijou asked quietly.
Faris scooted closer, pressing her breasts into Bijou’s hands. Bijou stroked her from nipple to side, slow, sensuous caresses that tightened her nipples and sent pulses of need into her groin.
Hands on the pilot’s shoulders, she tilted her head and touched her lips to the other woman’s mouth. “It doesn’t matter.”
Bijou captured Faris’s lower lip between her teeth and flicked her tongue against it. “Are you conceding the game?”
“Would you like that?” she asked. She trailed kisses along Bijou’s jawline, felt the woman trembling between her thighs. “Do you want me to surrender to you?”
Bijou lowered her hands to Faris’s hips and pulled her snug against her body. She nipped the juncture of Faris’s neck and shoulder. “Yes,” she said, her breath hot on Faris’s skin.
Faris leaned back. “I don’t submit easily. Make it worth my while.”
The smile Bijou offered was at once amused, intrigued and…hungry. She eased Faris off her lap and they both rose. The pilot took her hand and led her to Faris’s cabin down the short hall off the galley, not her own, which was closer.
“Yours is cleaner,” Bijou said by way of explanation. Faris had seen Bijou’s cabin. She was right.
She guided Faris to the narrow cot. They faced each other an arm’s length apart. Bijou’s gazed dropped to Faris’s mouth, her throat, her breasts. Each shift of the woman’s focus increased the tingling heat of Faris’s body.
Faris moistened her lips. “What do you want, Bijou?” That brought the pilot’s gaze back to hers. The desire in her eyes had grown to an almost fevered glint. “Tell me, and I might do it.”
“Undress,” she said simply.
With deliberate slowness, Faris slid her fingers along the closure of her trousers. Bijou followed her every move as she lowered the garment down over her hips and to the floor. She stepped out of them and pushed them aside with her bare foot. The hem of the blouse she wore brushed the tops of her thighs. She started to unbutton the first button.
“Wait,” Bijou said. Faris stopped, her finger toying with the bit of plastic. “Let me.”
Faris’s heart thudded hard in her chest and heat pooled between her legs. She lowered her hand. Bijou stepped closer. Eyes locked on hers, Bijou started at the top and slowly unbuttoned Faris’s blouse. She didn’t touch Faris anywhere else, didn’t let her fingers come in contact with Faris’s skin, though she felt the warmth radiating from Bijou’s hand.
When the shirt was unbuttoned, open to reveal a path of bare skin, Bijou lowered her hand and rubbed her thumbs along her fingertips. “Turn around.”
Faris’s first inclination was to disobey, but a shimmering thrill ran along her spine. She’d told Bijou it would have to be worth her while to submit to her. What did the brash pilot have in mine? Only one way to find out. She turned around.
Bijou’s fingertips glided up her arms to her shoulders. Faris felt warm breath against her right ear. “Close your eyes.”
Heart fluttering, she complied. Bijou feathered delicate caresses across her collar bones. Her fingertips stroked Faris sternum to breasts, across her nipples. Slowly, Bijou removed the blouse, kissing the side of Faris’s neck, along her shoulder, following the path of skin as it was revealed. The material brushed Faris’s back and shoulder blades, down her arms to where the cuffs prevented the blouse from coming off. Bijou eased Faris’s arms behind her, bringing her wrists together.
Faris’s breath caught and her eyes flew open. She turned her head. “Bijou.”
The pilot brushed her lips across Faris’s. “I won’t hurt you. I promise. Trust me?”
She’d known this woman for barely a week. Doc had trusted her to bring Faris’s documents, to keep her task of finding Faris on Granger to herself. But that was for money. What would Bijou want for her trust here?
Faris swallowed hard. Her next word came out in a dry whisper. “Yes.”
Bijou smiled and kissed her. Her tongue flicked against the seam of Faris’s mouth. Faris parted her lips, let her in. She leaned into Bijou, enjoying the soft press of the other woman’s breasts against her back. Bijou ran her hands up Faris’s sides and caressed her breasts. She pinched Faris’s nipples, sending licks of electricity through her.
The pilot broke the kiss. She wrapped the shirt around Faris’s wrists, binding her securely enough that she couldn’t easily get free but loose enough that her shoulders didn’t ache.
“Kneel down.” Faris knelt. Bijou nudged her knees apart. She touched Faris’s shoulder with one hand and her cheek with the other. Faris turned her head and kissed Bijou’s palm. The pilot caressed her jaw. “Lay your head on the cot.”
Faris leaned her forehead on the soft blanket covering the lumpy mattress. Her breathing had increased and she had to consciously slow it down before she hyperventilated. Naked, on her knees and arms bound, she’d never felt more vulnerable. Even during questioning by Stannish Prime’s security agents, Faris had felt some sense of control. She wasn’t sure she’d have it here.
Wasn’t sure she wanted it.
Yet she also felt powerful. One word, one indication that whatever Bijou had planned wasn’t fun anymore and she trusted the pilot to stop. For her.
Bijou moved away and the air around Faris immediately cooled. The quiet zip of her trouser closure made Faris smile. Soft rustling told her Bijou was undressed as well. The equality of nudity eased her mind some. She felt Bijou kneel beside her, her small breasts pressing into Faris’s right arm. Deft fingers stroked her from navel to breast.
“What would make you surrender to me, Faris?”
“I thought I was surrendering.”
The sharp pain of the swat Bijou delivered to her bottom made Faris gasp and her heart race.
“I think you’re following direction, but not quite surrendering.” Fingertips skimmed along Faris’s spine. Up. Down. She tickled the top of the cleft of Faris’s ass. “Would you like me to touch you some more?”
Faris nodded. Bijou’s hand landed on her buttock again. The delicious sting traveled up Faris’s back, making her shake. Wrong answer. Or rather, wrong way to answer. “Yes,” she said hoarsely.
***
Cathy Pegau’s muse almost always finds some sort of science fiction, fantasy or paranormal bend to the stories it offers. Her debut novel, Rulebreaker, was released in 2011. Caught in Amber in January 2013, and the third installment of her Nevarro books, Deep Deception, came out in May 2013. Rulebreaker and Deep Deception are F/F romances.
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Cathy enjoys chatting with other writers and readers. Drop her a note at cathy@cathypegau.com or find her on Twitter @CathyPegau.
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Pick up her books at Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble in ebook format. Caught in Amber and Deep Deception are also available at Audible.com
Love Spanks 2014!
When two grown-ups love each other, someone might get a spanking!
How would you like a brand-new Kindle Fire or Nook HD or another prize from a pool valued at over $1,000?
How about free stories from award-winning authors?
This Valentine’s Day, you can participate in a short story extravaganza! F/F authors will showcase romance, paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy and spanking fiction for your enjoyment. Chat with your favorite authors, meet new-to-you authors, find great new books, and meet new friends!
Want to become a Love Spanks ambassador and earn an extra prize entry? See below!
Even better, participation could earn you a GRAND PRIZE!
• Kindle Fire or Nook HD (winner’s choice)!
(donated by Blushing Books)
• Book cover plus author promotional package for one F/F book
(donated by Fantasia Frog Designs)
• Custom social media package for a F/F author
(donated by The Cover Artisan)
• Pre-publication consultation of a F/F manuscript up to 15K
(donated by Wizards in Publishing)
• Beginning Domestic Discipline Boot Camp package:
2 books and a 6-month online couple membership
(donated by Learning Domestic Discipline)
• Three-month membership to Discipline and Desire
• $50 gift certificate to Amazon
(donated by Beachwalk Press)
• $25 gift certificate to Evernight Publishing
(donated by the same)
• $10 gift certificate to Amazon
(donated by Read the Rainbow)
• $10 gift certificate to All Romance Ebooks
(donated by the same)
• Custom-made wooden paddle*
(donated by Blondie’s Place)
*Available to US and Canada participants only
• Author spotlight feature
(donated by VC Erotica)
• Author feature
(donated by Fallen Over Book Reviews)
• Book Bundles from:
Bold Strokes Books
Coming Together
Decadent Publishing
JMS Books
Library of Spanking Fiction
Loose Id
Phaze Books
Ylva Publishing
Plus, the first 50 Love Spankers will receive a copy of The Bodyguard by Saranna DeWylde!
Free book! Vampire’s Bard by Kate Richards
Many authors also will offer a contest on their individual blogs. Your comment on their blogs automatically enters you in both the main contest and the individual contests!
What’s the catch? Absolutely nothing! We love writing for you and want to thank you for your readership. Perhaps someone might get a spanking or two, but that’s a reward rather than a catch, right? 😉
Here are the rules:
1. Visit each blog between Friday, February 7 and Sunday, February 9 to read the posted stories and excerpts.
2. Leave a comment answering the story question on each blog. You will receive one entry per blog for the grand prize drawing. You will also be automatically entered in that author’s individual contest, if she has one.
3. If you have visited all of the blogs, visit Ana’s blog to sign up for FIVE bonus entries to the grand prize.
Deadline is midnight EST (UTC -5) on February 9!!
4. If you successfully completed a previous challenge (Spank or Treat 2013, Spankee Doodle 2013, Love Spanks 2013, or Spank or Treat 2012) challenge, you may add “VIP” to your comments. You will earn THREE bonus entries toward the grand prize. (Yes, we will be doing this again. Yes, if you successfully complete the Love Spanks 2014 challenge you can become a VIP for our next activity!)
5. If you are a F/F author or thinking of becoming one, please add “FF” to your comments. That way, your name will be entered in the special F/F author prize drawings.
6. Visit any of the participating blogs on Friday, February 14 to find out the lucky winners. Will it be you?
Like these events? Want to support your friendly F/F authors? Become a Love Spanks 2014 Ambassador! In exchange for promoting this event, you will receive one extra prize entry, AND you are still eligible to participate and win prizes!
To find out the details, contact Head Ambassador Tara Finnegan at tarafinneganromance at gmail dot com, with the subject line “Love Spanks Ambassador.”
For more information, updates, and a list of participating authors, please visit:
http://governingana.wordpress.com
Like us on Facebook!
Twitter hashtag: #lovespanks
THE WHOLE TRUTH about Jody Wallace
It’s been WAY too long since the lovely and talented Jody Wallace has visited. She has a new book out, THE WHOLE TRUTH (fab cover, isn’t it????), as well as a bunch of other fantastic stories. Jody is one of the most creative, smart and funny people I know.[singlepic id=30 w=320 h=240 float=left]
Recently, we got into a little conversation about writing “The End” and self-publishing. TWT is one of her indie offerings. She also has books out with Carina Press and Samhain.
JODY: So, Cathy, tell me about your recent accomplishment of writing “THE
END” on a new novel?
CATHY: Wait, I thought this was a guest post about YOU? OK, fine, I’ll start. In a few simple words, it was a relief. I was months behind where I wanted to be. But in my defense (pathetic as it is) there was a lot of research required.
What about you? How do you feel when those two little words get added?
JODY: Relieved that I wasn’t fooling myself all along about this book idea, since I just made a book out of it. I plan to write THE END on a manuscript this week, in fact.
CATHY: Yay to that! But I get what you’re saying. Sometimes, the more I read through a work in progress the more I think, “Man, this is the dumbest thing ever!” then the manic writer in me wakes up and is all, “Holy cow! This rocks!” I’m very VERY glad you put out THE WHOLE TRUTH. It’s definitely in the “This rocks!” category.
JODY: Thanks! It’s a very cross-genre book — light urban fantasy mixed with chick lit snark mixed with Southern fiction mixed with romance subplots –so I opted to self-publish it. Publishing a manuscript is kind of the ultimate THE END, or it used to be. Once you contracted it, you were forced to quit tinkering with it, aside from official edits or the anniversary revised edition twenty years after the fact.
Self-publishing is mostly like that–although the temptation is there to continue revising a manuscript once it’s published, because you have good ideas and because you can. I’ve found a few typos in my self-published work so far and, of course, I’ve updated the “About Me” section on occasion, but I’ve never given into the urge to really tinker.
Do you think you could resist that urge if you self-published?
CATHY: If I found typos, I’d fix them, or other formatting/mechanics issues. But I’d like to think that would be about it. Sure, after a book is out, I sometimes think, “Oh! I should have____!” but having it in someone else’s hands has helped me let it go.
What’s been the best aspect of self publishing for you?
JODY: I’ll get back to you on that when I get rich quick. Or slow. I don’t care. I just want a tornado shelter.
Until then, I can tell you a few things I like, without them being “the best”, right? I enjoy working with the cover artists myself instead of hoping the publisher gets it right. I appreciate being able to change my book blurb, my key words, and so on, tweaking that information, if not the book itself, to increase visibility. I also like being able to give free copies away willy-nilly. If only more people wanted them!
CATHY: I’d take a get rich slow scheme too. Well, in my lifetime, anyway.
Those are great aspects of self publishing. What about the not so great? (Other than the get rich too slow times). What do you find to be more frustrating compared to “traditional” publishing?
JODY: When you’re self publishing, it all comes down to you and the decisions you’ve made. So if your book doesn’t move, it’s you who made the “bad” calls, so to speak. Granted, publishing, especially self publishing, is so erratic that the same author could do the exact same thing with two equally polished books, and one could bomb and one could fly off the cybershelves. That’s partly true with traditional publishing, although in those instances, there are even more factors out of an author’s control than in self publishing. So you can change things in self publishing…but all the stress and blame are yours, too.
Why don’t you tell us about your latest project and then I’ll tell you about THE WHOLE TRUTH?
CATHY: Wait, aren’t you the guest? Why are we talking about *my* project? I can do that any time.
Tell us about THE WHOLE TRUTH. I’ve read this a while ago and LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Without spoilers, give us a little insight in to the types of folks who populate TWT.
JODY: I asked you first.
CATHY: *rolls eyes at Jody* Fine. It’s a cozy murder mystery set in 1919 Alaska, the town I currently live in, specifically. The story is sort of based on the murder of a “sporting woman” and her baby that happened in the ’30s or ’40s, but for some reason I decided earlier in the century sounded more interesting. It’s not like any of my other stuff. No space travel, ghosts or anything like that.
Your turn.
JODY: THE WHOLE TRUTH is what happens when you love chick lit, paranormal, urban fantasy, superheroes, snarky heroines, unexpected settings, office politics, food, cats and espionage all at the same time. Our heroine, Cleo, can see lies — a shadow forms in front of a liar’s face and mouths the true words. She thinks she’s the only person in the world like herself, but eventually, her unusual web searches and pointed commentary on internet blogs gets her caught, NSA-style, by a group of suprasensors who want to hire her.
But the group who hired her aren’t the only suprasensors in the world. And somebody out there seems to want to put suprasensors in comas. Or worse. It’s up to Cleo to get to the bottom of the mystery, and it really, really shouldn’t be up to Cleo, because she’s only a superhero in her abilities. Or that’s what she thinks
CATHY: I love Cleo. She’s a great snarky, reluctant heroine. My favorite kind :). And I’m sure once someone reads THE WHOLE TRUTH they’ll want more more more!
Do you have plans for other suprasensors’ stories?
JODY: That’s one of the worst pitfalls of self publishing and writing “on spec”, so to speak. You have to decide how to invest your energies. THE WHOLE TRUTH is not a short book. A sequel would consume months of my work-time to finish. (And by the way, anybody who snarks that books shouldn’t take that long to write can jump in a lake, because we’re ALL DIFFERENT, from process to product, thank God.) So, just like with any business, you have to decide if there’s enough probable profit to merit the project. Pleasure, yes, there would be pleasure in revisiting Cleo and the gang, but is that how I should spend six months of my time? Do my sales merit it? Or would I be better off investing my time in something else?
To make a long answer short, I don’t know.
CATHY: I can understand the reasoning behind that not so short response.
So while you’re busy promoting TWT and your other fab works, what are you writing? Can you share?
JODY: Letters to my children’s teachers. The book I’m about to write “THE END” on is the sequel to Tangible, which is through Samhain Publishing.
It was written on spec, it’s very long, and it’s taken a lot of time. I have no guarantee of a contract, but I enjoy working with my Samhain editor and have high hopes! After that? I want to write something short. What’s next for you?
CATHY: Good luck with the spec book! It’s great to have an editor who “gets” you, isn’t it?
For me? Good question I have a short, probably freebie SFR in mind as well as a longer SFR and a paranormal historical I’ve been chipping at. And others. I’m in a sort of limbo state, so I need something to really grab my attention. Unfortunately, what grabs *my* attention isn’t necessarily something that will be sellable ; P
JODY: I know that feeling well! And on that note…
Thanks so much for chatting with me, Jody!
Dear Readers, be sure to pick up Jody’s book THE WHOLE TRUTH. It is one of the most unique reads around. And check out Jody’s other books. You won’t be disappointed!
ESCAPE FROM ZULAIRE with Guest Author Veronica Scott
Thanks for having me as your guest today, Cathy! I’m happy to say my new Science Fiction Romance novel, ESCAPE FROM ZULAIRE is available now. The story takes place in the same universe as WRECK OF THE NEBULA DREAM, but the two novels aren’t connected in any way. My heroine in the new book, Andi Markriss, does work for the same galactic shipping company that Mara was employed by in WRECK, but that’s the only tiny connection. Good old Loxton Galactic Trading – they like to hire strong willed, independent women who stay cool in a crisis.
Here’s the book’s blurb:
[singlepic id=29 w=320 h=240 float=left]Andi Markriss hasn’t exactly enjoyed being the houseguest of the planetary high-lord, but her company sent her to represent them at a political wedding. When hotshot Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane barges in on the night of the biggest social event of the summer, Andi isn’t about to offend her high-ranking host on Deverane’s say-so—no matter how sexy he is, or how much he believes they need to leave now.
Deverane was thinking about how to spend his retirement bonus when HQ assigned him one last mission: rescue a civilian woman stranded on a planet on the verge of civil war. Someone has pulled some serious strings to get her plucked out of the hot zone. Deverane’s never met anyone so hard-headed—or so appealing. Suddenly his mission to protect this one woman has become more than just mere orders.
That mission proves more dangerous than he expected when rebel fighters attack the village and raze it to the ground. Deverane escapes with Andi, and on their hazardous journey through the wilderness, Andi finds herself fighting her uncomfortable attraction to the gallant and courageous captain. But Deverane’s not the type to settle down, and running for one’s life doesn’t leave much time to explore a romance.
Then Andi is captured by the rebel fighters, but Deverane has discovered that Zulaire’s so-called civil war is part of a terrifying alien race’s attempt to subjugate the entire Sector. If he pushes on to the capitol Andi will die. Deverane must decide whether to save the woman he loves, or sacrifice her to save Zulaire.
***********
So the idea for ESCAPE’s plot is based in a real life incident that happened in India in 1857. The events in India during this period go by many names, depending who’s telling the story, but one common term is the Sepoy Rebellion. I was always fascinated how so many British women and children in India at the time were caught totally unaware, suddenly in the middle of a really awful war, and the people they trusted and looked to for help were the very ones determined to kill them. I always wondered how it would feel to be in the middle of such a situation and what I’d do.
My novel is not a retelling of the Sepoy events in any way. Unlike WRECK, which was loosely based on the sinking of the Titanic, ESCAPE only takes the very basic idea and then runs with it. When the book starts, the heroine knows things aren’t quite right, she’s a guest at an isolated compound hundreds of miles from safety…and then one afternoon Sectors Special Forces Captain Tom Deverane shows up and says it’s time to leave now.
Here’s an excerpt from that conversation:
“I forget you’ve been out of the loop.” Sitting down, Deverane leaned forward, putting his hands on his knees and taking a deep breath. “Two days ago I got urgent orders, relayed from Sector Command, diverting me from my primary mission. The new priority was to come five hundred miles out of our way to extract you for a safe return to the capital city.” From the dry tone in his voice, Andi guessed how little he’d appreciated the change. “Now, if you could get your things together, I’d like to be on our way before dark.”
She blinked. Today? He wants me to leave now? Andi shifted back into the chair’s embrace, crossing her legs. “Get my things—what are you talking about? I’m the guest of Lord Tonkiln’s family, and I’m expected to present a significant gift from Loxton at the reception tonight with due ceremony. I can’t ride off with you on literally a moment’s notice without some compelling reason. Why is your Command issuing orders concerning me anyway?”
The captain got up in one smooth motion, like a great cat uncurling, paced to the fireplace and back, then half sat on the edge of a sturdy table. I bet he’s a person in constant motion—discussing anything in patient detail doesn’t appear to be his style. Well, I’m not one of his soldiers and I don’t take orders from him, so he’d better explain himself.
“Miss Markriss—”
“Call me Andi.” And let’s get this discussion on a less military, more personal level so you stop trying to give me orders.
The quick, meaningless smile crossed his handsome face again, never reaching his eyes. “Andi. In case you haven’t heard, this entire planet is about to be embroiled in a devastating Clan war.”
Andi didn’t hesitate. “Ridiculous. The Obati and the Shenti have been at peace for four hundred years. Everyone has been satisfied with the status quo for four centuries. How long did you say you’ve been on Zulaire, Captain?” She raised her eyebrows, drumming her fingers on the arm of the chair. “You’ve been here—what? Two weeks?”
He drew himself up to his full height, probably a foot taller than she, hands clasped tight behind his back, and glared at her. “I’ve been here long enough to see that this place is approaching critical mass, which apparently escapes your scanners. You’re the only offworlder on Zulaire right now who isn’t military, diplomatic, or mining personnel. And all of them are either safe in the capital or behind the defenses of the West Vialtin mine. Except you.” His index finger stabbed the air in her direction. “Along with my men and me. I intend to correct that situation in short order. Now, if you will please get your things—”
This is ridiculous. Not intimidated but curious, Andi shook her head. “We would have heard something out here. My office would have gotten in touch with me.”
Deverane walked closer, leaned on the table. “Have you received any communications from the office, or anyone since you came out here?”
“No, but it’s the summer slow period. Even the Loxton office is all but closed.” She gave him a challenging glare. “Look, on the basis of what you’ve said so far, I don’t appear to need rescuing. You still haven’t told me anything to justify leaving tonight, missing the reception, insulting my hosts, and driving back to the capital like a prisoner.” Wishing the deep upholstery didn’t make rising such an ungraceful process, Andi left the chair.
“You aren’t getting the picture.” Jaw clenched, he took a few steps to stand next to her. The glare from his green eyes was scorching, and Andi recoiled from the intensity. Apparently taking note of her unease, the captain gentled his voice. “Though why that should surprise me, I don’t know, considering the warnings Lord Tonkiln and the other members of the Council have ignored.”
“Warnings?” Andi took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest.
“To get their families the hell out of this isolated, inde¬fensible spot and into safety at the capital.” Deverane took a deep breath. He walked over to stare at the carvings on the mantel. Andi got the impression from the rigid set of his broad shoulders he was trying to control his temper. After a minute, he came to sit near her again. “I was told your boss made numerous attempts to get in touch with you, right until the moment he and the rest of the Loxton staff took a ship offworld.”
“Dave left Zulaire? They’ve all gone?” Now Andi fell back into the chair, raising a small puff of dust from the plush cushion beneath her. A wave of nausea rippling through her gut, she ran a hand through her hair, looping the tendrils behind her ear. “I don’t understand any of this. Why would my boss and my co-workers leave without me? Why wouldn’t the Tonkilns tell me? You’re still not making sense.”
Deverane came to hunker down in front of her chair, caging her with his arms, invading her personal space. Inhaling sharply, she caught a whiff of musk and forest and man, threaded with some delicious spicy note. She glanced down at his hands, strong, capable, locked on the chair close to her body. As if to calm an upset child, his voice was soothing and low. “Relax. We can get you offplanet in a military transport once you’re safely in the capital.”
She lifted her head, gazing straight into his eyes. Half-formed thoughts chased each other in her mind. The longer he talked, the more nervous she got, but it was still all too much to take in. Loxton only pulled staff offworld in the most serious situations. I haven’t heard a whiff of trouble. Dave wouldn’t have left me behind. Would he?
Deverane touched her arm lightly. “There have been incidents all summer. People disappearing, vehicles abandoned on the transportway with no sign of the occupants. There have even been some small-scale massacres in isolated villages, both Obati and Shenti. The violence keeps escalating. Command thinks a full-blown war is only a breath away, waiting for some convenient incident to touch it off. Lord Tonkiln and the others have chosen to keep things quiet, leaving their families at risk out here in order to demonstrate their belief in their own supremacy. Putting on a pretense of things going along as usual. Or else they refuse to see what’s coming. Civilians.”
He might as well have said idiots.
Deverane frowned at her, three deep wrinkles marring the strong sweep of his forehead. “Are you prepared to take the same risk?”
He’s invading my personal space, damn it. I don’t intimidate that easily, pal. She pushed at his rock-hard shoulders. Standing, he moved away a pace or two, still keeping his eyes locked on her. Licking her lips, Andi smoothed down her silky skirt. “You’re insinuating my hosts have deceived me and deliberately put me in harm’s way? I find that insulting.”
Eyes closed, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re a pawn to them.” Now he reopened his eyes and flung his arms out, hands wide open. “You mean nothing to them. If you’re going to refuse my offer of evacuation, then you’d better be ready to take care of yourself, because I guarantee you the Obati won’t.”
The book is available: AMAZON Nook Kobo NOW! Print on Demand paperback and iTunes coming soon.
You can find Veronica online here: Blog @vscotttheauthor Facebook
GIVEAWAY!!!! Veronica has kindly offered a $25 Amazon gift card to a random commenter. What do you think of this exciting new SFR! Comments will be open for the giveaway through Wednesday (9/4) evening and a winner will be announced Thursday (9/5). So comment now, people!
ETA: Thanks for dropping by and commenting! We have a winner…Jody W.! Congrats, Jody! Buy lots of cool books! : )
Playing Tourist at Home
(Gratuitous pic of adorable great-nephew : ) 
We traveled back to the east coast to attend graduations and visit with my family. Yes, I’m an east coaster by birth. I love my crazy family and experiencing the hustle and bustle of NYC and all, but every time I go back I’m grateful I live a more relaxed lifestyle.
New York is still *home* because my mom, siblings and their families all live there, and I’m comfortable being with all of them, but this is not where I feel *at home*, if that makes sense. I don’t know the towns like I may have 30 years ago. I don’t really feel comfortable driving on anything but the most quiet (for them) roads.
When we went into the city to visit the American Museum of Natural History (a place I hadn’t been in 15 years), we rode the train from Long Island and trekked through Penn Station to the subway platform we needed to go right to the museum. I love train/subway travel as a way to go, but I felt a bit lost in my own backyard, as it were. How could I have navigated the London Tube while escorting 14 teenagers with nary an eye twitch, yet finding the right subway at Penn made me feel like a wide-eyed…tourist?
Because that’s what I was. I can *say* I’m from New York, but I’m too far removed from living there nowadays to actually consider myself a New Yorker any longer. I’m an Alaskan.
So I embraced my new status of tourist. We took a brief walk through Central Park, gawked at the lights of Time Square, marveled at the huge buildings and the number of people crowed in such a tiny space. It was relaxing, in a way, to NOT have to know the area. And FYI, New York police officers are very kind and patient when giving directions : )
Another location we were able to play tourist was out at the east end of Long Island, in Montauk. The island is shaped like a fish with its head being Manhattan and the other boroughs to the west and the forks of the tail to the east. The northern fork is Orient Point. The southern is Montauk. My sister and her husband spend St. Patrick’s Day weekend at this nifty motel near the beach. For my nephew’s graduation, she got a good deal on rooms and we spent several days hanging out, barbequing and enjoying the sun and surf.
I had never, in my entire life, been out there, so it was great fun to discover the area with my own family. We borrowed my brother-in-law’s car and headed to Montauk Point lighthouse.[singlepic id=25 w=320 h=240 float=left] What a cool place! Walking up the narrow stairs wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected, but I don’t think I’d want to do it every day : P Still, lots of history that was fun to learn.[singlepic id=20 w=320 h=240 float=right]
I’m not sure when we’ll go back for a visit, but when we do I’m going to look into going to other places to play tourist. And I’m okay with that. Besides, it’ll get me out of having to drive alongside those crazy New Yorkers ; P
SFR Brigade MidSummer Bloghop
Welcome to the SFR Brigade MidSummer Bloghop! I’m one of many stops, and below my post is a list of grand prizes. Be sure to hit us all to keep the fun going!
The Revivalist Movement on Nevarro
Having a low- or no- tech faction within “modern” society is nothing new. Think of the Amish and others who equate their spiritual well-being with working without current—dare I say, necessary—conveniences and devices. No phones, no electricity, no mororized vehicles. Their ideals bring them closer to God.
My Revivalists, introduced in Caugh in Amber, follow similar principles. They use advanced technology when absolutely necessary, like the ships that carried them to Nevarro or transcontinental trains. Generally speaking, however, if they can do it for themselves, they do it themselves.
Revivalists have been on Nevarro practically since the first humans landed. They’re involved in many aspects of daily life on the colony, particularly with agriculture and mining. Hard-working, not-afraid-to-get-dirty jobs are their specialty. It isn’t always easy to be low-tech in a high tech world. No using air cars to get to the next ag station. No coming home from a long day in the mines and tapping a few keys on the CompuChef for a hot meal. But the movement is alive and well.
Though the government isn’t a theocracy, they do work with Revivalists for things like work programs overseen by the Corrections Department. In Caught in Amber, part of the conditions of Sasha James’s parole is working at a Revivalist-owned market. The basic tenet of “Laboring hands bring peace to the soul” is supposed to help reform her. It also gives her callouses and a backache, but those serve as reminders of why she’s in the spot she’s in. Nathan Sterling was raised in a Revivialist family and his work ethic stems from his upbringing.
Sasha and Sterling experience both aspects of living in Nevarro’s main cultures, though through different means. Sasha is more or less forced to live a simplier, less glamorous life after her incarceration, while Sterling voluntarily left to persue a career with the Colonial Mining Authority. They have learned to navigate the different aspects of those lives, for better or worse.
That dichotomy comes into play in Deep Deception. Much of the mining of keracite ore, the mainstay of the Nevarro economy, is done by large corporations utilizing more mechanized methods. They have people in the mines as well due to the volitility of the ore, but not in the percentages as, say, the correctional mines where mining is a form of punishment.
There is a subculture of miners called pirqs (from pirquinero, a real type of miner here and now) that utilize “old-fashioned” techniques. They stemmed from the original Revivalists landing on the colony who wanted to work for themselves, rather than huge corporations, and maintain a certain way of life.
Natalia Hallowell lived as a pirq until she was sixteen. She wasn’t a Revivalist, though she may as well have been. Pirq mining sites utilize the same relative low-tech methods as a way to honor their humble beginnings and maintain a connection with their livlihood. The similarities between pirqs and Revivalists is simply that by being “hands on” you will care more about how your methodology affects the environment and those living in it. A “spiritual mining,” if you will.
I don’t dwell on religion or spirituality in my books, but I’m not trying to make any sort of statement. In fact, I’m not one to follow a particular religion. Spiritual, yes. Religious, no.
So why did I include one? Why do my characters talk about it as often as they do? Because it’s a part of their history and make up in one way or another. Whether they practice or not (pretty much not ; ) they are or were influenced by the presence of the Revivalists on Nevarro.
What’s your take on religion in fiction, particularly science fiction?
***
SFR MIDSUMMER BLOGHOP GRAND PRIZE INFO
Winners will be chosen for the grand prize during the 26th and announced on the Brigade blog. All prizes are international. So, check out some fun posts, hit the Rafflecopter app, make a comment and maybe win something.
1st Prize – $150 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner’s choice) and an ebook bundle (currently Ghost in the Machine, Bayne, Recast Book 1:Wither, Recast Book 2:Clash, Alien Adoration, Switched, Reckless Rescue, Wreck of the Nebula Dream, Keir, Terms & Conditions Apply, The Key, Marya, The Iron Admiral, Sasha’s Calling, Trouble at the Hotel Baba Ghanoush, Winter in Paradise, Once Upon a Time in Space, the Telomere trilogy, Winter Fusion, Blue Nebula, Demential, Wytchfire, Maven, Fires of Justice, Interface, Girl under Glass, and Breakout. Bonus books – Ghost Planet, The Iron Admiral: Conspiracy and Deception, and Games of Command, The Plan, Stark Pleasure and Starburst.)
2nd Prize – $50 Amazon or B&N gift card (winner’s choice)
3rd Prizes – four $25 Amazon or B&N gift cards (given to separate winners and their choice)
Commenters here on my blog will get a choice of one of my ebooks, Rulebreaker, Caught in Amber or Deep Deception.
Have fun!!!
ETA: I’m headed away from the interwebs and may not be able to pick a winner for THIS post until after the 25th. It may be the 27th or 28th. Sorry about the delay, but I promise I will contact a winner ASAP. Thanks for understanding : )
Colors of the Rainbow Blog Hop: The Pixar Story Rules and Writing Deep Deception
The twenty-two rules developed by Pixar story artist Emma Coates have been floating around for some time now. No one can argue the success of Pixar stories. No matter what you see, from their shorts to their full-length movies, you will be given a well-rounded story with fully developed characters. The Pixar Rules may have been developed for a visual medium, but storytelling is storytelling. The Rules are essentially the same in motion pictures as they are for novels.
Writing lesbian romantic fiction is no different to than writing hetero romantic fiction, so to be honest the Rules I selected aren’t specific to one or the other. But I’ll tailor the three I selected to my latest release from Carina Press, Deep Deception.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
Deep Deception came about as I was writing my second science fiction romance, Caught in Amber. I’d used the one character, Natalia Hallowell, in minor roles in CiA and in my debut novel, Rulebreaker. She was always more complex than her bit parts suggested. And when Genevieve Caine popped up in CiA, I knew the two of them would make a great pair. I HAD to get their story out. Once I found a plot and a sub plot it was off to the races.
#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
Natalia is trying to keep her job and Gennie needs to protect her family. Noble causes. And if they don’t succeed? Well, Natalia might end up in a correctional facility if she’s charged with taking bribes. That’s not good. Gennie could lose everything she loves. That’s not good either. But wait! In the words of Donald Maass and other gurus of fiction, make things bad for your characters. Then make them worse. Now make it worse than that. Not only do Natalia and Gennie have those threats against them, they could be killed along with others. (I won’t go into spoiler details ; )
#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
Identifying with your character and/or their situation requires putting a bit of yourself on the page. Sometimes it requires ignoring the fact you don’t possess certain skills, but that’s beside the point. Skill isn’t the issue. I’m not trained as a government agent (or am I???). I’ve never shot anyone to save a loved one. You have to ask yourself, as a person, what you’d do. How you’d react. But at the same time, you have to know your characters well enough to show what they would do.
And staying in character is important. My tough government agent Natalia didn’t have much to say in the first two books, but since she’s a main player in Deep Deception, readers get to see her more clearly. One commented on this, saying Natalia’s sudden chattiness and all felt off. Well, sure, I can understand that because Natalia didn’t get a lot of screen time in the first books. Now that I had the chance to show her side of things, she let her personality and her feelings out. To me, they were very true to her character.
Next time you read or write a story, see how the Pixar Rules apply. Every one of them will help you understand the process. Do you follow any particular rules?
MY GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment and win a copy of Deep Deception! Please check out an excerpt of Deep Deception here : )
Blog Hop Goodies!!! GIVEAWAY Free to everyone! No entry needed.
Download your favorite version of the exclusive Marketing for Romance Writers Rainbow Excerpts Book – 60 pages of erotic excerpts and samples from MFRW authors.
Acknowledgements
I neglected to put an acknowledgements page in either Caught in Amber or Deep Deception. I know. I suck : P It’s not that I don’t have anyone to acknowledge. Far from it! I’m just terrible at remembering things like that. So this is my acknowledgements page.
Thanks so so very much to my Twitter pals, especially Jody Griffin, Debra Kayn, Phoebe Chase, Diane Dooley and others too numerous to name. You make me laugh and let me cry when I need it most. In one way or another, you’ve seen me through some of the best and worst times, whether you knew it or not. You’ve let me go crazy and kept me sane. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I would be absolutely nowhere in this business without my friends/critique partners/beta readers. Sharron McClellan, Jody Wallace, Alyssa Linn Palmer and Malin Larsson are some of the most talented and amazing writers I know. Each of you offers a unique perspective and approach, each provide me with honest and constructive criticism that make my stories better. Your insights as authors, your reactions as readers have given me the best feedback over the years. I couldn’t do this without you fine ladies!
Rhonda Helms, Carina editor extraordinaire! You ask all the right questions, make all the right suggestions, and at the same time allow me to tell my story my way. You have helped make these books richer. I have come running to you with issues that you sympathized with then quickly smoothed over. You have talked me down from writerly ledges and reeled me in from flitting off on wild tangents. You are the consummate professional who is easy and fun to talk to. No one could ask for a better editor.
Speaking of consummate professionals who are easy to talk to, who let me spew on their inboxes and gently lead me off ledges…Natalie Lakosil, my lovely agent, you have done all that and more. You whipped Caught in Amber into shape and has kept me on track since day one. Your market acumen, editorial suggestions, and support have been critical to my career. Thank you for sticking with me, Natalie. I’d be lost in this crazy world of publishing without you.
I owe my family a great deal for their patience and understanding. You get why I do this. You offer help on plotting or characterization or titling problems. You understand when I tell you it’s “scrounge night” because I have a deadline or ideas are flowing and I haven’t started dinner. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me in the entire ‘Verse and I love you to pieces.
There are a lot of others involved in the production and marketing of a book: copy editors, tech folks, cover artists, the reviewers. The list is long and varied. I can’t say enough about you all. Thank you for all you do!
Finally, I’d like to thank anyone who has read my stories. You took a chance on a newer author who writes in genres and subgenres that don’t get a lot of play or prestige. I hope that leap of faith was rewarded by your enjoyment of what I have to offer. And I hope you’ll stick with me as this journey continues.
Thank you all!
Shiny Symbols of Love. Or Not.
I’m not one to wear a lot of jewelry. Earrings, because I have five piercings to fill. My wedding ring, of course. A watch if I’m not typing, because otherwise it’s quite uncomfortable. And a necklace I bought several years ago. 
Why is this special? Why do I never take it off, except to clean it (or take a picture : )? Because it’s a symbol of love. Each of those tiny stones represents someone: the birthstones of my children, my spouse and myself. No matter where I am, my family is with me. On a recent Tart Sweet post, Limecello asked about my five most prized possessions. My wedding ring and this necklace were first and foremost on my list.
Necklaces are worn by characters in all three of my Nevarro novels, but differ in significance. In Rulebreaker, Zia Talbot wears a gold ring strung on a chain. It matches another piece of jewelry she never removes. Liv sees them but doesn’t learn the meaning of them until later in the story.
“I’ve worn these rings…since I was a girl, waiting for the right person to share all I have and all I can be. I’ve found that person.”
For Zia, the rings are a symbol of the future life she wishes to live. Not one of riches and power—she has those—but of love.
The necklace Guy Christiansen gives Sasha James in Caught in Amber carries a completely different connotation. First, note that Guy is not the hero in Caught. When Sasha comes to him in an effort to help Nathan Sterling, Guy presents Sasha with a pinky-nail sized ruby strung on a gold chain. It matches the ring he wears. Here’s a bit of her reaction after he secures it around her neck.
The cold stone and metal chilled her while his warm fingers lingered at the base of her neck. “Just a token,” he said lightly.
His offhand manner didn’t fool her for a moment. She looked up. In his blue eyes was exactly what she’d expected: triumph. Satisfaction. Possession.
Guy sees it as a representation of love. Sasha knows it’s more sinister than that. But she has no choice in accepting it for Sterling’s sake. Slight spoiler alert: She doesn’t keep it : )
Genevieve Caine isn’t very forthcoming with information in Deep Deception, but the pendant she wears tells quite a bit about her character and motivations. It represents something she isn’t willing to share with Natalia Hallowell. At least not at first.
A silver pendant on a delicate necklace rested between her breasts. Gennie saw Natalia looking at it and quickly slipped it under her shirt.
The significance of the pendant isn’t a plot spoiler, but it has more of an impact if you read it in context so I won’t tell you anymore about it here. Suffice it to say, it’s an important piece of jewelry to Gennie, and becomes so to Natalia.
These pieces of stone and metal have more than monetary value. The emotions attached to each of them, for better or worse, make them more than what they are.
In celebration of my latest release, Deep Deception, I’m holding a giveaway for a silver locket 
reminiscent of Gennie’s pendant and a copy of the book. I will ship internationally! Just tell me if there’s something you own that holds more meaning and value than what it’s “worth.” If you want to share why, that’s great. If not, that’s okay too : )
I’ll pick a winner next Monday, June 3.
Posted in books out, Carina, Cathy Pegau, Caught in Amber, Deep Deception, romance, Rulebreaker, SFR, win stuff, writing
27 Comments
Shifting Gears
I just received feedback from my lovely agent regarding a new manuscript I’m working on. Everything I’ve written or considered writing has had some sort of speculative fiction element to it. Whether characters are living on another planet or one’s a ghost or a shape shifter, I’ve always had a bit of “otherness” in my stories.
But not for this one.
This story is a historical piece based on a local murder from back in the day. I got caught up in the idea after one of the locals was giving us some information about a cemetery. Being a writer, I immediately started to wonder about the woman who was killed and why. Now, I have no idea what the facts might be, but my brain has managed to fill in its own version.
So I’m working on a proposal for an Alaska historical murder mystery. No space ships. No ghosts. No weird things living in the woods. Just…people who have human motivations and abilities. And few flush toilets.
It’s a bit disconcerting to be out of my normal mode, but exciting too. I’ve fallen in love with our local history and with the era I’m focused on. People who came up to Canada then here for the gold rushes of the late 19th century were tough, and the women were often tougher. My story is set a bit later, but there will be connections to that earlier time.
It’s going well so far, and I love my heroine, Charlotte. She’s a journalist for a women’s magazine who likes the bigger stories (like the Suffragette movement and the Volstead Act, for which she is for and against, respectively ; ). She’s in Alaska visiting her brother, the town doctor, and writing a series of articles about life on the wild frontier. She’s also trying to escape some things in her recent past. Throw in a dead prostitute who was hiding something and a handsome lawman, and we have a story.
Will my change in genre fly? I hope so.
When’s the last time you changed things up in your world? How’d it go?